What about the documents I share on Canvas? Do they need to be accessible, too?

Short answer, yes. You can always test your Word documents, PDF files, and any other resources you are uploading to Canvas using your computer’s built-in screen reader, checking their contrast, or using the Word accessibility checker. Remember to also make sure that your videos are captioned and can be played back at different speeds. Many 3rd-party services, such as 3Play, transcribe your videos for a fee and integrate with the caption functionality of popular video hosting providers such as YouTube and Vimeo (this is what CNDLS uses for it’s online courses).

One final, important reminder: it is always best to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to the accessibility of your online resources. Taking a bit more time up front in the development can save lots of time (and student stress!) later. You can learn more about web accessibility at Georgetown’s Web Accessibility page, and as always, if you have any specific questions or concerns, email us at cndls@georgetown.edu.